Rafael Ceurdepyr said:
I really like this idea. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. Thanks!
Happy to help.
Any other words of wisdom?
One thing that comes to mind is to do with the issue of equipment/treasure for NPCs. If you have the PCs fighting lots of classed NPCs, you may have issues with the amoutn of low-level permanent magic items the PCs are collecting and disposing of. One way to work around this, though not strictly by the RAW, is to give enemies the benefits of magical equipment without actually giving them the equipment. So, for example, you can have a bunch of people getting a +1 resistance bonus to all saves without actually possessing a Cloak of Resistance +1. Of course, if you're using the DMG guidelines for NPC wealth, make sure to take off the appropriate amount from their wealth for the 'virtual' magic items.
Another thing to do, which is fairly minor but can both increase player enjoyment and create a sense of greater verisimilitude, is to have encounters once in a while which would have challenged the PCs a few levels ago but which they can roll over very easily now. It gives the players a sense of how far their characters have come and lets them blow off some steam and enjoy themselves in a way that is drastically different to the enjoyment that comes from a battle to the death that they barely survive. From the POV of the campaign world, it makes it seem like more of a real place rather than one where everyone levels up along with the PCs to be just powerful enough to challenge them. Of course, after the PCs kick some poor 2nd lvl muggers all over the landscape, other low-level enemies should be less willing to engage them intentionally, but that also provides a certain degree of entertainment, as the PCs hear their prowess being fearfully extolled by those they once feared. It'll make them feel special until you unleash the high level enemies on them
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Something else that you should make sure to be absolutely clear on is the role of death in the game. As is being discussed in the
Should D&D Have an Alternate Death Mechanic? thread, DMs and players will each have a whole lot of expectations on the subject, many of which may not match up. And at these levels, death happens very easily and, if you run a game which isa t all on the tough side, quite often. Making sure that your players and you are on the same page is a very desirable thing.
Of course, clear communication between DM and players is always a good thing. Considering that this level of play is new for them too, I suggest getting regular feedback on what things are working for them and what is not, and why. Whiel you'll get a lot of good advice on ENWorld, most of it will be fairly general, and may be tangential to the specific issues of your game.
Numion said:
At higher levels I create obstacles for the PCs to overcome without even thinking beforehand how they might possibly overcome them. They usually come up with a way that I woudn't have thought about anyway :\
Actually, that's my approach too. To repeat what I just posted in the
"Factors Affecting CR and EL" thread:
... it's also impossible, I think, for a DM to "calculate" for the ingenuity of the players and all the things they might pull off. As the good general Moltke would have said if he was a DM, no plan survives contact with the PCs. That's why I much prefer to focus on the situation and leave how they'll deal with it to my players/PCs. While I may have a couple of broad ideas for things they might do based on my knowledge of the PCs and the players' usual approach, I try never to have any expectations that they'll do something specific. So far, over the last 5+ years of non-stop DMing, it's worked out very well.
